2012's tailgate-ready cars

Caption2012 Honda Odyssey

2012 Honda Odyssey prices, photos & reviews

The Odyssey is a tailgate machine. It can bring eight fans with enough room behind them (38.4 cubic feet) for a small grill. Or take five fans, collapse the third row and have 93.1 cubic feet for all your gear. Models with the rear entertainment system include a cargo-area household power outlet to run your speakers or electric cooking gadgets. Step up to the Odyssey's Touring Elite trim, and you'll get Honda's 16.2-inch rear entertainment system. It can split the screen between two sources with audio-video and HDMI inputs. That means you could stream coverage of the pregame sportscast from a smartphone while someone plays Madden 13 on the other side. Tailgating will never be the same.

The Odyssey is a tailgate machine. It can bring eight fans with enough room behind them (38.4 cubic feet) for a small grill. Or take five fans, collapse the third row and have 93.1 cubic feet for all your gear. Models with the rear entertainment system include a cargo-area household power outlet to run your speakers or electric cooking gadgets. Step up to the Odyssey's Touring Elite trim, and you'll get Honda's 16.2-inch rear entertainment system. It can split the screen between two sources with audio-video and HDMI inputs. That means you could stream coverage of the pregame sportscast from a smartphone while someone plays Madden 13 on the other side. Tailgating will never be the same. (2012 Honda Odyssey prices, photos & reviews)

The Grand Caravan boasts 33 cubic feet of space behind the third row and 83.0 cubic feet behind the second. Its standard Stow 'n Go seats create large under-floor compartments in front of the second row that can stow drinks, food and gear. The third-row seat flips back for a rear-facing tailgate seat, also standard, that allows two or three revelers to sit where cabin vents can offset some of that December wind. A flip-down rear entertainment screen, meanwhile, can stream pregame coverage off your smartphone.

The Grand Caravan boasts 33 cubic feet of space behind the third row and 83.0 cubic feet behind the second. Its standard Stow 'n Go seats create large under-floor compartments in front of the second row that can stow drinks, food and gear. The third-row seat flips back for a rear-facing tailgate seat, also standard, that allows two or three revelers to sit where cabin vents can offset some of that December wind. A flip-down rear entertainment screen, meanwhile, can stream pregame coverage off your smartphone. (2013 Dodge Grand Caravan prices, photos & reviews)

All it takes to throw a decent football bash is a designated driver and a roomy car. Kelsey Mays of Cars.com takes note of seating capacity, cargo room and extra storage in his squad of parking-lot performers.Cars.com photos